if you're insecure enough to let your inadequacies dictate how you act towards your fellow man, then you have some work to do on yourself.

That's totally true, but there's a difference between 'having some work to do' and being labelled a dickhead. Nardwuar's interviews might be a great example for phenomenological study. I don't begrudge anyone their feelings in those cases. It's not just about someone being 'different' - it's that the interview style is different, and that it's intended to produce atypical responses.

If you're a teacher and you go through parent-teacher interviews, is it fair to say that if one of these interviews goes poorly that you should be labelled a dickhead? Some of the staples of Nardwuar's style (like getting artists to finish his sentences) can come off as patronizing or leading. It's the responsibility of the interviewer, to some extent, to attenuate what they're doing in order to get a quality interview.

Some people do a 'schtick' purely to control the interview the way they want to. I don't think Nardwuar does that (or at least not in the way that I'm describing it), but if you've experienced interviews like that before, it might seem at first like that's what he's doing. It might come across as more of a Marg Delahunty bit than a legitimate interview conducted by someone with considerable knowledge of both mainstream and non-mainstream music and culture. Mary Walsh might actually get some quality info out of her guerilla interviews in character, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't expect some of them to go poorly.

I'm not saying Blur or Sonic Youth or anyone weren't being giant assholes at the time of an interview with him, but I cringe at the thought of people letting Nardwuar's interviews dictate their opinion of an artist wholesale.

I really think his interviews are fascinating, and it would be interesting to get his opinion on this. I'd actually mark a Nardwuar AMA down on the calendar.

anyone who sees Nardwuar as plotting is clearly projecting. is he weird? most definitely. "leading" though? that's all in their head.

i feel like we've been semantic enough to be talking about different things now. i'm simply saying that who you are shouldn't change, regardless of context. people who go out of their way to antagonize or belittle Nardwuar are being dickheads, period. Nard quickly makes it clear that he knows about music, and is interested in removing the barrier between "famous" and "a real person"

Yeah but there's a difference between 'having some work to do' and being labelled a dickhead

the difference is that some people are aware of their insecurities and do their best to manage them. the others don't bother because they think they don't need to change at all. the former, like all of us, have work to do. the latter are the dickheads